FDY3005 Becoming an Effective Leader Assessment Brief 2026 | Arden University

FDY3005 Assessment Brief 

As part of the formal assessment for the module Becoming an Effective Leader, you are required to submit the assessment that is described in this assessment brief.

Learning Outcomes:

After completing the module, you should be able to:

• Explain a suitable business idea and outline the preferred business structure.
• Select and justify appropriate leadership and management techniques, supported by relevant theories.
• Demonstrate an understanding of marketing and pricing strategies, applying these to a business idea.
• Graduate Attribute 2 Contextually Innovative. Develop a structured business plan to assess the feasibility of their proposed idea. 

All learning outcomes must be met to pass the module.

Guidance 

Your assignment should address all the elements of the assignment task set out below and include:

• a title page containing your student number and word count
• the module name
• the submission deadline and the exact word count of your submitted document.
• the appendices if relevant; and
• a reference list in the AU Harvard system(s).

You must not include your name in your submission because Arden University operates anonymous marking, which means that markers should not be aware of the identity of the student. However, please do not forget to include your STU number.

Maximum word count: 2000 words

Please refer to the full word count policy, which can be found in the Student Policies section here: Arden University | Regulatory Framework  

The word count includes everything in the main body of the assessment (including in-text citations and references). The word count excludes numerical data in tables, figures, diagrams, footnotes, reference list and appendices. All other printed words ARE included in the word count.

Students who exceed the wordcount by up to a 10% margin will not be penalised. Students should note that no marks will be assigned to work exceeding the specified limit once the maximum assessment size limit has been reached.

Assignment Task

In this module assessment, you will show your understanding of what is needed to effectively lead and manage a new start-up business. 

You are an entrepreneur looking to start a new business, and you come across a competition where entrepreneurs can pitch a new business idea to investors who want to invest in business startups. They are looking for future business leaders. 

The investors are interested in business ideas that help make everyday life easier. 

Entrepreneurs are encouraged to be creative within this theme, but the business idea must relate to it in some way or form. 

To enter the competition, you need to write a 2000-word business plan. The plan will pitch your idea. It must persuade the investors that you have a good understanding of what is needed to effectively lead and manage a new start-up business.

Below is the template for your business plan that you need to fill in to enter the competition. A Microsoft Word template is available on iLearn for you to write up your plan. 

Your plan should showcase your business idea, so your plan needs to give as much detail as possible about your specific business idea.

It is a requirement for students to use the template below.

This can be found on iLearn under the assessments tab.

Final Portfolio Submission 

Assessments Submitted Late Will not be accepted. 

Please submit your portfolio as a Word document. A template is provided on the module iLearn site. Please use the template, as it will make sure that you include all the evidence asked for. 

You must ensure that the submitted assessment is all your own work and that all sources used are correctly attributed. Penalties apply to assessments that show evidence of academic unfair practice. (See the Student Handbook, which is available on the A-Z key information on iLearn.)

Assessment Support

We strongly encourage you to engage with our assessment support options as you work through your assessment task(s):

• Book a tutorial with a Foundation Year lecturer.
• Academic Skills Team - book an appointment with a tutor here
• Academic Skills Team – book a workshop
• Academic Skills Team – view resources
• For support with English Language, visit the English Language Hub

Formative Feedback

You can submit a full/partial draft of your work for feedback.

Submit a copy of your draft using the Turnitin formative draft link by the given deadline. You can find the deadline for your draft on iLearn. You can submit your draft on iLearn under the ‘My Assessment’ tab. 

Formative tasks allow you to check your understanding of key concepts and, therefore, help you prepare for the final portfolio submission. 

Your lecturer will provide verbal/written feedback to help you improve your assessment before submitting your final portfolio in week 10.

Referencing Guidance

You MUST underpin your analysis and evaluation of the key issues with appropriate and wide-ranging academic research and ensure this is referenced using the AU Harvard system. Follow this link to find the referencing guides for your subject: Arden Library 

Please refer to the referencing guides for guidance on how to reference any use of artificial intelligence in the writing of your assessments. You can access the referencing guides here: Arden Library

Assessment Criteria for FDY3005